The Best Laid Plans
by darveysecretsanta2018
Summary: Song prompt: If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it - The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.


The fourth Secret Santa fic is packaged with a pretty bow and shiny wrapping. Don't forget to leave Santa a thank you note with a comment. :)

.

Prompt by Carol Ciancutti (carebear1471) - _If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it._

Story by: Emily (u/10686297/Specter-Paulsen)

* * *

Ever since Harvey had bought the ring, he'd been planning and re-planning how he could propose to Donna. Several plans had been drawn up and then scrapped, none seeming special enough. It was shortly before Halloween when he finally decided - Christmas. He had his pick of holidays in the final quarter of the year, but despite her Halloween excitement, he knew that deep down, Christmas was her favourite. Halloween wasn't particularly romantic anyway, and Thanksgiving seemed too obvious. So Christmas it would be.

He suspected that she could see it coming, she was Donna, after all, but he'd always been aware that surprising her with a proposal was going to be almost impossible. He was pretty sure she'd seen the ring, or at least had an inkling about it's surreptitious residence in their home, hiding like a fugitive in his sock drawer, but she hadn't said a word.

It was a little less than two weeks before Christmas - December 12th, to be precise, and he'd planned a date night. He wanted to start with the proposal so he wasn't nervous the rest of the night, giving her less opportunities to see right through the guise. He'd determined that proposing two weeks before Christmas was more surprising than doing it on Christmas Eve, which had been his original plan, and he wanted desperately to surprise her. But he knew it wasn't really about the surprise. What mattered the most was making it memorable. And memorable it was.

So let's set the scene, and watch these two fools get engaged…..

* * *

Harvey sweeps into Donna's office at 7pm, declaring, "I'm taking you out tonight."

"As much as I'd love that, I'm absolutely swamped here, can we do it tomorrow instead?" She's barely even looked up from the pile of paperwork she's studying and he feels a slight twinge of worry that this might not be as easy as he thought. He puts on the puppy dog eyes, giving her the look that always gets him his way and slides into a chair in front of her desk. "But I made a reservation." He makes sure to put just a hint of sulk into his words.

She sighs, still looking down at the paperwork and then looks up sharply. "Do you mean you made a reservation, or you asked Chloe to make it for you?"

"I made it myself! Googled the number, dialed it on my phone and everything." He gives the slight head jiggle he does when he's proud of himself and despite the mountain of work in front of her, she can't bear to turn him down. Not when he's so pleased with himself.

"Okay, fine. Let me just pack some of this up and we can go."

* * *

Ray pulls up to the curb in a part of town Donna isn't familiar with and she gives Harvey a quizzical look.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," he replies mysteriously, flashing her a smug grin at the secret he was hiding. She narrows her eyes at him slightly, suspicious as to why they were so far downtown, and he simply smirks back, weaving his fingers through hers as he leads her along the street.

He may look confident on the outside, but he's nervous as hell, and it's something he's unaccustomed to feeling. It makes him a little edgy, worrying something will go wrong. He's not worried she'll say no, he's secure enough in their relationship to know what her answer will be, but he wants the night to be perfect. Something they'll remember forever.

His first clue that things might not go to plan is the light rain that begins falling as they walk toward the park he had in mind. To Donna's credit, she doesn't mention it, just pulls her coat a little tighter around her, no doubt cursing the effect the raindrops will have on the cashmere. As they approach the entrance, he can see a hint of the twinkling lights that await them beyond the fence and his heartbeat speeds up, knowing how close he is to the most important moment of his life thus far. His hand tightens around hers and she sidles closer to him, the chill in the air penetrating the thick fabric of her coat and causing her to shiver a little. She's hoping they'll be inside soon, the cold weather starting to bother her.

When they reach the gate, he pushes on it but it doesn't move. His brow furrows and she hides a smile at at his confused expression. He pushes again and she takes the moment to point out the padlock and chain.

"It's locked, Harvey. Guess we're not going in."

"But it's supposed to be open until ten," he mumbles, almost to himself as he rattles the gate again, pulling at the padlock in the hope it might magically open.

"Let's go to dinner. We can come back here some other time."

He seems not to have heard her and starts off in another direction. "I'm sure there's another way in, let's walk around the perimeter."

"Harvey, seriously? It's raining." She's beginning to feel a little aggravated and she tries hard to keep her voice even but a slight edge comes through, which he ignores.

"Oh, c'mon, you love Christmas! You'll love this once we get in."

"I really don't want to walk around trying to find another gate on the off chance it might be unlocked. Can't we just go to the restaurant? We can do this another day."

"The reservation isn't until 9 - I planned time for us to do this." He sounds desperate, almost defeated but trying hard not to be. If she weren't so annoyed with him, she might have picked up on it.

"Nine? You want me to stand out here, in these heels and this weather for another hour? No."

"Maybe I could climb the fence, find a way in?"

"Harvey." She's unamused.

"C'mon, It's Christmassy." He's being ridiculous now and it grates on her. She could've been back in the office finishing some work and he'd dragged her out to a part of town where the streets weren't even numbered, to see a Christmas tree in a park.

"It's bullshit," she snaps finally, fed up.

"Can't you appreciate that I'm trying to do something nice for you here?" he snaps back.

"I could, if you'd fucking planned it properly."

"For fucks sake, Donna, I wanted to do something romantic for you."

"Well you haven't. Standing in the cold and the rain trying to get into a locked garden is the least romantic thing you could have done."

"Forget it then. Let's just go home."

"Fine." She turns on her heel and strides back toward the car, not having quite the effect she wants to because stilettos on a wet sidewalk are never easy.

"Fine," he echoes, cursing himself for how badly wrong everything had just gone.

* * *

Two hours later, Donna emerges from the bedroom in her pajamas, hair wrapped in a towel, to find Harvey hovering sheepishly in the kitchen.

"What?" she asks suspiciously, an edge of irritation still present in her tone.

"Nothing." He brings her a glass of wine which she accepts begrudgingly. As she sits on the couch, she notices there are carols playing softly and he's turned the tree lights on. The fire is going and as she curls her legs underneath her she's glad they're home instead of out in a fancy restaurant.

"Are you still mad?" he asks her.

"I wasn't mad," she sighs. "I was just cold and wet and in a strange part of town."

"I really was trying to do something nice for you." He still sounds a little offended and she sighs again, knowing she could have been more receptive.

"I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay. I — I thought you'd like it. Maybe we can go there next weekend instead."

"Why are you obsessed with this park all of a sudden?" she asks shrewdly.

"I'm not obsessed."

"You were absolutely determined to get in there tonight, even in the rain, and now you want to go back next weekend?"

"I just — I wanted to take you there because they have a beautiful tree and a whole bunch of lights and it's like a little fairy garden in there. It's beautiful and I thought you'd like it." He rubs the back of his neck and looks away and she reads his nervous habit, her eyes narrowing.

"Why are you lying?"

"I'm not lying."

"Harvey." She tilts her head in that way she always does when she's calling him out on his bullshit. "Why are you being so weird?"

"I'm not being weird!"

"You're being so weird! What is going on?"

"I was going to propose to you, okay?" The words fall from his lips before he can stop them, and he's sure it's almost comical the way his hand comes up and immediately clamps over his mouth. Donna's slack-jawed, gazing at him with an unreadable expression and he watches her for a moment before he recovers himself and sits down next to her. "I was going to propose," he says again, softer this time.

"Tonight?" Her voice is a little shaky.

"Tonight," he confirms. She gazes at him with wide eyes as a grin spreads across her face.

"You planned it yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Well that was your first mistake, idiot." She slaps his arm lightly but she's grinning gleefully and he feels the weight in his chest start to lighten.

"I could hardly let you plan your own proposal."

"You should've asked Rachel. Or Mike. Or Louis, Jessica, Katrina, hell, even Robert."

"I didn't want anyone to know about it before you did," he mumbles, feeling stupid now for thinking it would be romantic. He looks down at his hands, so he sees her hand move to cover his and he looks back up at her face.

"Harvey," she breathes, tears beginning to well in her eyes, "that's so sweet."

"I was trying to be romantic."

"You were." She engulfs him in a hug. "You are."

"I'm sorry it got messed up. I wanted it to be perfect for you."

"You are perfect for me. I don't need anything else." She kisses him then, overwhelmed with love for this man who wanted to give her the perfect proposal. "It's snowing," she says in wonder when they part, catching sight of the flakes dancing serenely outside the windows. He follows her gaze and smiles, the setting suddenly feeling more perfect than anything else could ever have been. He pulls the ring box from his pocket, where it's still residing, opening it and presenting it to her.

"Will you marry me?" He asks simply. She nods happily.

"Yes, Harvey. I'd love to."

* * *

And that was how they got engaged, on the couch in their home, Donna wearing sweatpants, her wet hair dripping down her back, with the fire crackling, Christmas carols playing, and snow falling outside the window.

Exactly one year later, they were married in that same park. The lights twinkling, the large tree as a backdrop to their nuptials, it was a perfect setting. Donna was stunning, her hair cascading over her shoulders like fire in the night, burning a trail over the cream wool dress she wore.

Harvey had never looked so serene, or so ecstatic. Tears filled his eyes as Donna walked down the aisle toward him, no one giving her away at her own request - she was an independent woman, not property to be given from one man to another. Both of her parents sat proudly in the front row, Harvey's family in the same position across the aisle, grinning from ear to ear.

They made short but eloquent vows to one another, their words meaningful, their promises to one another more in sync than perhaps anyone had expected.

"It took us a lot longer than it should have to get here, but we've been on one hell of a journey together and we've got plenty more to come.

I think many people here tonight knew we would end up here, and some of them probably knew even before we did. But we caught up eventually and I'm so happy to be here with you now.

I thought a lot about what to say in my vows, and I couldn't put into words everything you bring to my life; the joy and light and organisation and love. But I know exactly the promises I want to make to you.

I promise to always love you, even when we fight. I promise to be your strength, comfort and stability when things feel chaotic, and I promise to even cause some chaos just to keep things interesting.

I promise to forgive you when you replace my coffee with those "seasonal" flavours you love so much, and I promise to let you eat at least two thirds of any chocolate we have in the house.

Most of all, I promise to love you in the best way I know how, to enjoy every minute of the time we spend together, even in the hard times.

I love you, Donna, and I'm so grateful you agreed to spend your life with me. I can't wait to be your husband."

"Harvey, it's been a long time coming, but we finally made it. All our friends knew before we did that we'd end up here, but we insisted on being stubborn about it.

I've always prided myself on knowing people, but for the longest time I didn't know myself. But with you, I know exactly who I am. I'm a better person with you; we make each other whole. And I don't know how we can top the journey we've had so far, but I have a feeling our best days are yet to come.

I promise to always love you, even when I don't like you. I promise to always make you laugh, because your smile could power the world and my day is never complete without seeing it at least once.

I promise not to always replace your coffee with pumpkin spice lattes even though you secretly love them, and I promise to be with you through all the ups and downs our future brings.

I promise to be there for you, to have your back always, and to cherish every minute we spend together. I already know that being your wife is the best decision I've ever made. I love you."

And when they were pronounced husband and wife, they sealed their marriage with a kiss and cheers rang out from their nearest and dearest. It was the perfect ending to their long and eventful courtship, and the perfect beginning to the rest of their equally long and eventful marriage.


End file.
